I had learned quickly many things I had never considered about fighting over my time in the dungeon. The way to move my muscles so damage was lessened. How to hit something in such a way it won’t get back up, regardless of physiology. What kind of damage it takes to put something truly powerful down. Today, something new. You could get performance anxiety.

An unsightly scream peeled away from me unbidden as I fell through the air before landing with a splat. Egging the others on, Naea started a raucous cackling at my expense. Doing my best to ignore the peanut gallery, I tried once more to activate my new ability. The latest Guidance Stone to my draconic repertoire was the first to require specific timing to use correctly.

Infusion was a general boost in power for the cost of mana. Harmony of the Storm acted mostly as an additional expense or way to spend mana which changed the energy into the thunderous power of a raging tempest. Obviously, Weapon Mastery was as passive as they come, inert even. I was more than glad with the supposed effect of my new ability, I just needed to make it work.

I had two new Guidance Stones since the start of the day, but had only used one so far. Both had come from the completion of the guild quest. I claimed one before offering the rest to the party of friends. Ellie’s Aspect of Poison was a better fit with the Guidance Stone of Desecration I had received from Shub-Nagorath than any of the others on offer, so I traded for another of the new ones.

With only two Guidance Stones left to fuse with my draconic attribute, along with my understanding of Dao, I knew I needed to be picky with my choices. My decision to use the Guidance Stone of Absorption was an easy one, even with the permanence of the choice weighing heavy. Absorption as a concept was completely in line with my knowledge of dragonkind.

The Storm Dragon had devoured whole planets on its path to godhood, taking the vitality and power of both worlds and their star for itself. The pride of the ancient, regal power within me had hungered for the ability to do similar. Out of the six stones to choose from, this was the only one which had been certain.

Again, I liked the sound of how it worked.

I was once more launched across the room as my opponent’s frustration reached a fever pitch. The huge figure looked back and forth between me and the others before stomping its foot like a child. “I agree. Their laughing isn’t helping. I nearly had it that time though, so don’t give up.”

Monster - Adult Amphibian Attack Animal - Level 36

This one had evolved compared to the brethren I had fought before. It was, of course, the first mini-boss of the pagoda tower. Finally finding a way to mix the current situation with my own plans, I gathered up the others and told them to follow me. Into the trial tower we went. I didn’t plan on letting anyone else get involved as these were my towers to claim but allowing them to spectate would be… enlightening.

I had thought it would show the new people how impressive I was, how seamlessly I controlled a battle and dealt with my opponents one after the other. Recency bias aside, I could argue I had succeeded at this in the first phase of the fight. Before the twelve foot turtle-frog-man got involved, I had torn through a wave of the unevolved versions. These adolescents didn’t have magical weapons like the ones I had faced outside unfortunately, but it meant I just swept through them without care.

The big guy was my opportunity to show off what I could do. Instead I was just being ragdolled due to the creature’s strength. I spat out a mouthful of blood. “Okay, last fucking chance. You better hope it works or I’m just going to crush you instead.” The monsters seemed to understand speech, which was kind of fun and kind of messed up at the same time. Trying to measure their intelligence was a dangerous game leading to dark moral questions better reserved for philosophers.

I stared down the mini-boss as it charged, enraged by my casual taunt. I tried one last time to get the feeling right within as I tried to activate the very simply named Drain.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Skill - Drain (Dragon/Absorption)

The greed of the dragons is legendary. Like every race, each dragon is different but all possess the ability to take without return.

Thank you System, very cool description and trickle of lore but how the fuck do I do it? I had received a burst of information when I used the stone, just like I had before, but there were intrinsic differences with how the energy needed to move. Figuring it out mid-battle with an enemy who wanted, perhaps even needed, to kill me was not wise. My previous breakthroughs had all come in battle, so I hadn’t planned for what to do if it didn’t happen.

I scrunched my eyes shut and tensed as the moped-sized fist sent me crashing into the wall of the tower. The energy had failed at the last moment yet again. Pulling myself from the wooden wreckage, I nearly gave in. We had been doing this song and dance for over fifteen minutes and even I was getting bored of it now. The tension in the other five had long vanished.

The loss of interest was nearly as frustrating as my inability to grasp the new power. Grasping it was entirely the problem, actually. Stubborn, I threw myself at the creature. My basic attributes were the only things used here as I didn’t want to muddy the waters of my technique by using Infusion. The pathways which Infusion filled with energy needed to be empty.

They needed to be more than dried up, though. The real issue with using this skill was the lack of control I was forced to chase for it to work. Since the moment I had sensed the energy within, I had been constantly moving, moulding and experimenting with its properties. Even in my sleep, my mana twisted through the channels within myself automatically.

It’s impossible for a human to hold their breath until they die. The act of breathing itself was an involuntary reflex. Once my body had been changed by the System, breathing became less and less necessary. At this point, I was only doing it out of reflex and comfort more than needed. The permanent automatic act of breathing had been replaced by the perpetual churn of mana within my core and pathways.

In essence, I was attempting something similar to forcing my heart to beat in the other direction. It was nonsensical but all the more annoying because I knew it was possible. The System had shown me as much. I was obstinate, determined to make it work even as I accrued some avoidable damages. Even though I hadn’t fought back much, the mini-boss itself was becoming lethargic. It’s strongest moves weren’t putting me down and it was getting tired.

It wasn’t that slow though.

I slipped, the weakness of having no mana running through my muscles. My lucky opponent happened to swing a huge kick my way at the same moment and, unlike our previous collisions, this one caught me dead on. My shit got thoroughly rocked and I bounced around the edge of the circular room from the force. Naea zapped over to me as I lay on the ground hurt. “Ffffffffuuurgh.” I turned my curse into a growl as I came to a stop. “My arm feels funny,” I mumbled.

“Yep, it’s super broken. Don’t worry, no one can see. Listen,” she slapped me as she spoke, stopping me from losing consciousness. “Get it together. You’re making us look bad in front of the servants.”

“You’re still calling them that? I thought we were over that.” I had caught Naea bossing the group around and cracking an imaginary whip. She was getting them all to plant different flowers in the gardens and lawns around the guildhall.

“They like it,” Naea lied unconvincingly. I was too out of it to care, only able to focus on her first point. This was not a good showing of my skills at all. Naea channelled my mana through herself and sent it back, full of healing potential. I hissed as my arm snapped back into place. She looked at me seriously. “Are you going to win?”

I blinked. “Naea, you’re a genius. Yes, I’m going to win.” Was it that simple? Couldn’t be, but nothing else was working. The fairy preened at my compliment, though she had no idea what I meant. I held out a hand for a fist bump, one she happily gave me. As she did I activated an ability I had never actually used before. Naea’s energy flowed into me easily through Battle Bond. Before her evolution, the technique was a detriment more than a help when I used it. Now, it was the key to understanding the trick.

“Hey!” Naea shouted after me, but I was already moving. I channelled the bundle of energy I had taken into an Infusion and enjoyed the differences in how the technique resolved. I was faster than when I used the technique with my own power. I felt lighter and everything was just a little funnier. No wonder she’s never serious, I thought. My mind went to a specific moment underground. Naea’s promise to avoid damage and the weight of her saying it. I’m such a hypocrite.

With my attributes soaring, I engaged the creature again. Due to its size, it should have been unwieldy but all of these ninja turtle knock-offs had been annoyingly dextrous. Even twice the size it should be, the nasty green-grey monstrosity was whipping around like a masterful practitioner of martial arts. It had a glove on each hand which magically extended the range of its attacks.

First I had been hit because I was surprised, then because I was tired and intentionally weakening myself but no more. I was levels higher than this thing’s and twice as strong as someone without my achievements would be. This thing was just supposed to be a training dummy, not an actual challenge.

I could tell the others were returning their focus to me. It was the first time in a while I hadn’t immediately been sent flying so the progress was clear. Instead of clumsily avoiding big hits, I was effortless in my movements. The huge thing was quick, sure, but only relative to other things. Compared to myself, especially with Naea’s speed-heavy Infusion, it might as well have been in slow motion.

Having a high Mental attribute doesn’t stop one from over-thinking. If anything, it probably makes it easier. A decent Will attribute is necessary to keep things in line, a trapping I had just been a victim of. Rather than beat myself up for being slow, I would beat up the slow ass turtle dude. Stepping around a hammer blow, I moved in close to end things.